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Rorschach

Rorschach

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  • Create Date：2021-12-15 07:19:27
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Tom King
  • ISBN：177951204X
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Summary

It’s been 35 years since Ozymandias dropped a giant interdimensional squid on New York City， killing thousands and destroying the public’s trust in heroes once and for all。 And since that time， one figure in a fedora， mask， and trench coat has become a divisive cultural icon。 So what does it mean when Rorschach reappears as an assassin trying to kill a candidate running against President Robert Redford？ Who is the man behind the mask， and why is he acting this way？ It’s up to one detective to uncover the true identity of this would-be killer–and it will take him into a web of conspiracies involving alien invasions， disgraced do-gooders， mystic visions， and yes， comic books。 Writer Tom King joins forces with artist Jorge Fornés for a new miniseries that explores the mythic qualities of one of the most compelling characters from the bestselling graphic novel of all time， Watchmen。

Collects Rorschach #1-12。

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Reviews

Nick ，

Tom King is a very on or off writer for me， but he’s mostly on。 It’s unfortunate that this book on one of the coolest comicbook characters was so incredibly slow and boring。 I think he’s at his best when writing outside the box with complete freedom。 This one felt forced。

Dean ，

Being a huge fan of Watchmen I was looking forward this one and really interested to see where Tom King would take the character。 This brings me to the first issue here - Rorschach isn't in it！ Sure， there are people who look like him or talk like him， but this book could just as well as been titled something else and stood on its own feet。 The plot itself is a really slow burn （it's Tom King after all！） so don't go expecting fast paced action and edge of your seat writing here。 It's essentially Being a huge fan of Watchmen I was looking forward this one and really interested to see where Tom King would take the character。 This brings me to the first issue here - Rorschach isn't in it！ Sure， there are people who look like him or talk like him， but this book could just as well as been titled something else and stood on its own feet。 The plot itself is a really slow burn （it's Tom King after all！） so don't go expecting fast paced action and edge of your seat writing here。 It's essentially a murky and fairly decent political thriller/detective story （which again has very little to do with the actual Rorschach himself！）。 The art was where the book really shines though。 There's a retro feel to the illustrated pages which fits amazingly well with the dark political tone。 Overall， I was tad disappointed by this as a whole。 Sure， I enjoyed it enough， but it just felt like so much of the writing here was included just to lead the reader around the houses。 There's just so much irrelevant story here that it leaves you wondering if it really should have been a whole 12 issues in length。 。。。more

Mark ，

Had some shaky moments but told a solid， cohesive story that had something to say about the line between commitment and derangement。 Still don’t like it when real people make cameos in speculative fiction （Frank Miller in this one）。 Usually takes me right out of the story。

Dovydas ，

Slow burn， but definitely worth the time。 Great writing by King and incredible cinematic artwork by Fornes （without any decompression）。 Doesn't really require much knowledge of the original Watchmen story as it's set decades after the original events， and it follows the idea of Rorschach rather than the character itself。 The only downside is that it does get a bit messy by the end， but it still is a fantastic story。 Slow burn， but definitely worth the time。 Great writing by King and incredible cinematic artwork by Fornes （without any decompression）。 Doesn't really require much knowledge of the original Watchmen story as it's set decades after the original events， and it follows the idea of Rorschach rather than the character itself。 The only downside is that it does get a bit messy by the end， but it still is a fantastic story。 。。。more

Matt ，

Collects Rorschach issues #1-12At this point， I'll at least try anything that Tom King writes。 I read this in individual issues， and I imagine that this will read better as a graphic novel collection， because there were definitely things that I was forgetting along the way。 This story is set in the world of "Watchmen，" but years after the events of "Watchmen。" The general public in this comic book still doesn't know everything that we know as readers of "Watchmen，" but they know some truths of w Collects Rorschach issues #1-12At this point， I'll at least try anything that Tom King writes。 I read this in individual issues， and I imagine that this will read better as a graphic novel collection， because there were definitely things that I was forgetting along the way。 This story is set in the world of "Watchmen，" but years after the events of "Watchmen。" The general public in this comic book still doesn't know everything that we know as readers of "Watchmen，" but they know some truths of what happened。 There is a mystery unfolding throughout the events of this book， and an investigation that we are following along with。 。。。more

zackxdig ，

The dialogue boxes made it hard for me to understand who was saying what。 But maybe I’ll give this story another shot。 Could be better。 Was wanting more method with Rorschach but it wasn’t really about that。

Anubhav ，

Tom King flexing his storytelling skills and forgetting to tell a compelling story。 Jorge Fornes's art is terrific。 Tom King flexing his storytelling skills and forgetting to tell a compelling story。 Jorge Fornes's art is terrific。 。。。more

Sam Quixote ，

2020， and President Robert Redford is seeking re-election。 But his four-term tenure looks to come to an end as Turley， the Republican nominee， is picking up steam。 And then an assassination attempt is made on Turley’s life， almost twarting his campaign。 The would-be assassin？ An unrecognisable old man in a Rorschach mask with Walter Kovacs’ prints。 But Kovacs （the original Rorschach） died nearly 35 years ago - didn’t he…？ I’m less of a Watchman fan and much more of a Tom King fan， and increasing 2020， and President Robert Redford is seeking re-election。 But his four-term tenure looks to come to an end as Turley， the Republican nominee， is picking up steam。 And then an assassination attempt is made on Turley’s life， almost twarting his campaign。 The would-be assassin？ An unrecognisable old man in a Rorschach mask with Walter Kovacs’ prints。 But Kovacs （the original Rorschach） died nearly 35 years ago - didn’t he…？ I’m less of a Watchman fan and much more of a Tom King fan， and increasingly， a fan of artist Jorge Fornes too， thanks to their great work on Batman， which is what drew me to their limited series， Rorschach。 But， unfortunately， King doesn’t bring the same level of magic to this book that he did to Batman - I can’t emphasise this enough: Rorschach is an extremely tedious read！ This is the first Watchmen title to follow Geoff Johns/Gary Frank’s Doomsday Clock， which introduced the Watchmen into the DC Universe， so I thought this book would have a connection to that book， but it doesn’t。 The Rorschach（s） in this book is not the Rorschach from Doomsday Clock - in fact， this book has nothing to do with that book。 Also， aside from a few references， this book doesn’t have a great deal to do with the original Watchmen comic either - Rorschach could easily be read as a standalone book。 King continues to subvert expectations by making Rorschach essentially a bit player in his own book。 In fact， you could go further and say that， aside from some of the characters wearing his mask， it’s almost incidentally a Rorschach book - without that small detail of the costume， this could just be a True Detective-style comic。 So definitely don’t expect superhero shenanigans if you pick this one up。 Which is fine with me - I’m all for being surprised， particularly when it comes to DC’s usually predictable output - but what we get instead is equally as dull as generic superhero antics。 The Turley campaign hires a private investigator to look into who the assassins were and whether they’re connected to the Redford campaign - the PI is the character we follow as he unravels the stories of “Rorschach” and his accomplice， a 19 year old sharpshooter from Wyoming。 And， my word， is the investigation the dreariest thing to slog through！ Wow。 None of the guys’ lives who put on the Rorschach mask were all that compelling to read about， particularly the one we initially meet， nor is the life of deadshot Laura Cummings。 The detective protagonist is such a cipher that I can’t even recall the man’s name！ The supporting characters don’t stand out either。 Turley is an asshole politician and the others are just staffers doing their jobs。 It’s such an unimpressive cast。There’s very little driving the story。 We just have to wait it out as King slowly takes us through every little detail that leads the assassins to their bloody destiny。 I don’t know who would be on the edge of their seat waiting to find out whether Rorschach and Laura were connected to the Redford campaign or not， but that’s the assumption King makes， and it’s the wrong one because I never cared once！ I’m gonna mention specifics in this next part so， if you’re planning on reading this and don’t want any - they’re not really “spoilers” but let’s call it that for sanity’s sake - spoilers， skip this。 I’m not recommending this book - it’s terrible and will almost certainly put you to sleep long before the end。 OK - “SPOILERS”！ Wil Myerson， the main “Rorschach” of this book， is a thinly-veiled portrayal of Steve Ditko， the artist who most famously co-created Spider-Man for Marvel。 Besides looking like him and having created a popular comics character （“Pontius Pirate” in this universe）， he also creates comics reminiscent of Ditko’s Mr A， reimagined as The Citizen。 Quite why this Rorschach had to be an elderly New York cartoonist， I have no idea （maybe having a pirate-themed comic within a comic is a nod to Tales of the Black Freighter in the original Watchmen） - it’s particularly confusing when Rorschach is able to fight off a handful of cops by himself！ What - does putting on the mask bestow an elderly cartoonist， who’s spent decades in his apartment hunched over a drawing board， with hand-to-hand combat skills？！ Myerson/Ditko isn’t even the only famous superhero cartoonist in this story。 I’m not kidding - Frank “Sin City/300/The Goddamn Batman” Miller is here too！ It’s maybe the weirdest plot detail in the book。 There’s no real reason for Frank Miller to be here， but he is， and he’s also wearing a Rorschach mask。 Although， this being an alternate world， he’s famous here for his seminal ‘80s comic， The Dark Fife Returns （other notable details about the setting of this story is that Vietnam is now an American state and technology seems to be far behind ours in the present day - a key plot point in their 2020 hinges on a tape recorder。 I can’t even remember the last time I saw one of those！）。 Stuff like Frank Miller’s inclusion are a big part of why I didn’t like this book: it’s way too long。 There’s so many pointless digressions - too much time is spent on Myerson and Cummings， there’s an entire issue about a circus strongman that’s not important， another issue about the detective interviewing a trio of patsies， another issue about talking to the dead via tape recordings， paranoid fantasies involving Doctor Manhattan and squid aliens， and the godawful final 2-3 issues that is one long info dump highlighting just how utterly convoluted King’s plotting can get。 It’s 12 issues that would’ve been overlong had it just been 6。 And all it turns out to be is an underwhelming story about two sad， lonely people who somehow found each other and decided to do something crazy。 One of them wore a Rorschach mask for no reason and that’s what makes this book “Rorschach”。 Also， politicians at the highest levels are crooked - colour me shocked。 Jorge Fornes’ art is by far the best part of this book and yet it’s also a long way from his most impressive work， given that he’s not really asked to draw anything particularly spectacular。 King’s lo-fi script is mostly people in sparsely-decorated rooms talking and/or looking at papers。 His wonderfully designed covers are the standout for me and I liked how the title pages morphed from blank paper to a Rorschach pattern over the course of the book。 The occasional splash pages are excellent too， especially that last one which is definitely a shocker - it’s a very unpredictable ending， if also kinda meaningless and nihilistic。 The part where the circus strongman decided to be Rorschach and Frank Miller’s appearance both made me laugh， so I suppose they weren’t that bad， but otherwise the vast majority of King’s script put me into a near-comatose stupor。 Rorschach is the anti-page-turner。 It requires a lot of patience and concentration to get through， because you’ll mostly be wanting to put it down and do something interesting instead， and doesn’t reward that effort either - all you get is a forgettable， boring story that’ll disappoint both fans of the character and the creators。 A disappointing book all round。 Hurm。 。。。more

Billy Jepma ，

Talk about a full-course meal。 I wasn't thrilled at the concept of a Rorschach series， but the creative team and framing of the story won me over。 It makes the wise choice to not be about Rorschach the character， but Rorschach the ideal。 This isn't a glorification of the titular character， but a sharp-toothed dissection of the mentality the character embodied in its original iteration and currently embodies in our modern landscape。 The comic may not reach the highs of the HBO series， but it work Talk about a full-course meal。 I wasn't thrilled at the concept of a Rorschach series， but the creative team and framing of the story won me over。 It makes the wise choice to not be about Rorschach the character， but Rorschach the ideal。 This isn't a glorification of the titular character， but a sharp-toothed dissection of the mentality the character embodied in its original iteration and currently embodies in our modern landscape。 The comic may not reach the highs of the HBO series， but it works in tandem with it and takes the themes it reckoned with in its own direction。 The comic doesn't always work， but I admire its aspirations and ambition， even when they get off track。 There's a lot of stuff here that I love and some of it that I don't， but I respect its aspirations， even if they get a little dizzy by the end。 There's quite a bit of anger in these pages， from the characters it follows and Tom King himself。 His writing has a nastier streak that surprised me but gave the story some obvious but compelling parallels to the landscape of the real world。 Anger at political stagnation， at inherited traumas， at powerlessness， at powerfulness， at repeated histories， at the self: King is grappling with a lot， and it shows。 The story's midpoint lags a bit， and the inclusion of real figures （like Frank Miller） doesn't feel right to me。 I appreciate the metatextual intent King is shooting for， but I don't think he pulls it off。 His mystery would've been more potent if it hadn't tried to loop in so many other sources and figures， real and fictional。 Having 12 issues gives King plenty of time to explore his characters' motivations and backstories--and it's those aspects that work best--but it also gives him too much leash， and he definitely gets caught up in it。 The actual story and mystery would've worked better as a tighter 8-issue series; of that， I'm confident。Yet。。。for every moment that rubbed me the wrong way or left me scratching my head， there was another moment that utterly floored me。 Even if it doesn't translate to the overarching story， the pacing of each chapter is sublime， as King uses sparing， striking dialogue with verbose monologues to great effect。 We get inside these characters' heads， peeling back layers upon layers of buried bitterness， regret， fear， and sadness until we get to the messy， bloody， raw core of it。 Even if it ultimately concludes on a predictable note， the journey there was worth it。 There are moments of the series that are going to fester in my brain。Jorge Fornés and Dave Stewart steal the show， though。 As striking as King's writing can be， it's the artwork that leaves the biggest impression。 Fornés operates at an absurd level here， imbuing every page with storytelling， tension， and remarkable expression。 His work is only strengthened by Stewart's colors， which fiercely reiterate the message behind every one of Forné's meticulously curated panels。 Rorschach is a marvel to look at and exemplifies a marriage of story， script， and visuals that feels too-good-to-be-true。 This is a series that locks you in its pages and occupies you。I don't know if 4-stars is the correct score for this， but it feels right。 It didn't resonate as deeply as I wanted， but it struck a nerve nonetheless。 I'm eager to re-read it in the （probably near） future and see how it works for me after having some time to process it。 。。。more

Fred ，

King （and Fornes） does another great job。 This could easily have been a story with no connection to Rorschach or Watchmen。 It has allusions to the original comic series that are well placed。 There is maybe some tangential stuff linked to the television series， but not to its storyline。 What it really is - a political thriller， a psychological story， and a character study。 If you’re looking for that， you’ll enjoy this。 If you want a continuation of the Moore/Gibbons story or Doomsday Clock， this King （and Fornes） does another great job。 This could easily have been a story with no connection to Rorschach or Watchmen。 It has allusions to the original comic series that are well placed。 There is maybe some tangential stuff linked to the television series， but not to its storyline。 What it really is - a political thriller， a psychological story， and a character study。 If you’re looking for that， you’ll enjoy this。 If you want a continuation of the Moore/Gibbons story or Doomsday Clock， this isn’t what you want。 。。。more

Samuel Otten ，

Artfully crafted mystery and political thriller that is in the universe of Watchmen （with some connections to the HBO series） but does not require a deep knowledge of the Watchmen story。 The art contains really strong settings and a consistent mood。 I enjoyed it and can't wait to re-read it now that I see how everything fits together。 Artfully crafted mystery and political thriller that is in the universe of Watchmen （with some connections to the HBO series） but does not require a deep knowledge of the Watchmen story。 The art contains really strong settings and a consistent mood。 I enjoyed it and can't wait to re-read it now that I see how everything fits together。 。。。more

Artemy ，

Not sure I understood everything that was going on here reading the series monthly， and not sure I want to come back and re-read it since it's really quite dark， but there were so many powerful moments in this book that I really can't not admire what Tom King was doing here。 As an extension of the Watchmen universe， I'd still say Damon Lindelof's HBO show was better and more powerful， but this comic was still a damn good effort。 Not sure I understood everything that was going on here reading the series monthly， and not sure I want to come back and re-read it since it's really quite dark， but there were so many powerful moments in this book that I really can't not admire what Tom King was doing here。 As an extension of the Watchmen universe， I'd still say Damon Lindelof's HBO show was better and more powerful， but this comic was still a damn good effort。 。。。more

Alex ，

2，5*Том Кинг для меня hit or miss。 "Вижн" мне очень понравился， а "Мистер Чудо" был not my cup of tea。 "Герои в кризисе" начинались увлекательно и закончились пшиком。 Ран "Бэтмена" тоже был очень неровным для меня， я уж молчу про дешевый трюк со свадьбой。 Первые несколько выпусков "Роршаха" зашла на ура， суля нуарный политический детектив с драматичной интригой， но чем дальше， тем больше стало появляться вопросов （ответы на которые были очевидны）:- Зачем так бесстыдно спекулировать на наследии М 2，5*Том Кинг для меня hit or miss。 "Вижн" мне очень понравился， а "Мистер Чудо" был not my cup of tea。 "Герои в кризисе" начинались увлекательно и закончились пшиком。 Ран "Бэтмена" тоже был очень неровным для меня， я уж молчу про дешевый трюк со свадьбой。 Первые несколько выпусков "Роршаха" зашла на ура， суля нуарный политический детектив с драматичной интригой， но чем дальше， тем больше стало появляться вопросов （ответы на которые были очевидны）:- Зачем так бесстыдно спекулировать на наследии Мура и Гиббонса？ Ведь если убрать убрать имя Роршаха с обложки и все отсылки к "Хранителям"， ничего по сути не изменится。。。。。только куда меньше читателей заинтересуются серией。 Ах， да。 - Зачем упорно размазывать на 12 выпусков историю которая прекрасно вместилась бы в 8-10， и при этом стала бы куда более энергичной и увлекательной， а ее проблемы не были бы так заметны。 Впрочем это обычный modus operandi Кинга。 Килобайтщик。 Рисовка Хорхе Форхеса немного примиряет с этим， на те самые дополнительные ползвезды。- Ну и концовка。 Опять。 Как и один кинорежиссер， Кинг умеет завлечь ящиком с загадкой， но что внутри он， такое ощущение， и сам не всегда понимает， так что разгадки или не будет вовсе， или она будет довольно разочаровывающей。 PS。 Муровский Роршах не боролся бы героически с Большим Злом этого комикса， а поддержал бы его обеими руками， поскольку он вполне был его электоратом。 。。。more

James Lawner ，

Watchmen （2019） Season 2！If you thought Mister Miracle was too open-ended， get ready for the most milquetoast ending ever！I cannot believe that Tom King would do something like this; craft an interesting and even though-provoking political noir mystery that used Watchmen references conservatively， and have it end in such an unresolved way。 Like this ain’t like how the Watchmen graphic novel ended where you could imagine how things could go afterwards， I mean， it even had a happy ending of sorts， Watchmen （2019） Season 2！If you thought Mister Miracle was too open-ended， get ready for the most milquetoast ending ever！I cannot believe that Tom King would do something like this; craft an interesting and even though-provoking political noir mystery that used Watchmen references conservatively， and have it end in such an unresolved way。 Like this ain’t like how the Watchmen graphic novel ended where you could imagine how things could go afterwards， I mean， it even had a happy ending of sorts， but the final issue of this limited series just ends with the Main Character watching Muppet Treasure Island！！ I can’t believe after all the shit I’ve been through from reading Tom King’s works。 There were some highs， and some very lowly lows， but this is just the Ironic Cherry on top of the Hypocritical Sundae！ How can 1 comic book writer just troll their readers like that？ After nearly a year of publication， this is how he chooses to end things？ The ending in issue 11 felt more satisfying than this！ I can’t believe I was excited for this， and let it be clear， I did not have super high expectations for the ending or anything like that， I was just interested in how things were going to wrap-up， but I certainly did not expect that！Overall， why does Tom King keep getting work？ His only good work is stand-alone/one-shot style stories。 I truly don’t know if Strange Adventures is gonna be any good， if it has a whack-ass ending， I’ll probably never read anything with Tom King’s name on it ever again！EDIT/UPDATE: I re-read all 12 issues （like a chump）， and it made a little bit more sense the second time around， but the ending still sucked。 Also， what was Tom King trying to say with this work？ That people with specific idealogical beliefs deserve to die at the hands of conspiracy theory-driven assassins？ Governor Turley was just your standard cardboard cut-out conservative coconut， and we barely get to see his perspective on things outside of surface-level details， and the Main Character has no personality， no backstory， NOTHING！ and the Steve Ditko stand-in was just an excuse for King to dunk on Ditko for being an Objectivist， and his portrayal of Frank Miller was also an excuse that we， the reader， could laugh at Miller’s expense， because seeing Frank Miller dress up as Rorschach and get sent to jail is probably something a lot of critics of Miller’s would just love to see， but it’s weird and kinda sad。 Had this comic not have any connections to Watchmen， it could’ve been a decent story， but it looked like Tom King was too busy trying to look like The Smartest Man in the World by writing this shit。 The only good thing this series had it going for was the artwork by Jorge Fornéz。 。。。more

Nathan Holic ，

I was really digging this for the first couple chapters。 But it started to get tedious and talky， and ultimately I’m left with the feeling that it was too long by half。 The crime/conspiracy just isn’t interesting enough to take us through 12 issues， and so we get a lot of long， almost non-sequin or conversations （and a lot of strange image/text juxtaposition/contrast） that seem more padding than impactful。Tom King’s great。 But this might be one where the editorial necessity of 12 issues hurt an I was really digging this for the first couple chapters。 But it started to get tedious and talky， and ultimately I’m left with the feeling that it was too long by half。 The crime/conspiracy just isn’t interesting enough to take us through 12 issues， and so we get a lot of long， almost non-sequin or conversations （and a lot of strange image/text juxtaposition/contrast） that seem more padding than impactful。Tom King’s great。 But this might be one where the editorial necessity of 12 issues hurt an otherwise fine story。 。。。more

Jamil ，

4。5Good but it didn't need the Rorschach name 4。5Good but it didn't need the Rorschach name 。。。more

John Funderburg ，

4。5 stars。 A twisted conspiracy story that is utterly hypnotic and compelling。 King is an outstanding writer， and the artwork by Fornes is sublime。 Don't miss this one。 4。5 stars。 A twisted conspiracy story that is utterly hypnotic and compelling。 King is an outstanding writer， and the artwork by Fornes is sublime。 Don't miss this one。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Rorschach

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Rorschach&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Rorschach&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0